Using stevia to sweeten your foods and beverages can save you a lot of calories, since this sweetener, made from the plant Stevia rebaudiana, is 250 times sweeter than sugar and contains almost no calories. However, some types of stevia preparations may affect your blood sugar levels differently than others.
The most studied compounds from the stevia plant are rebaudioside A and stevioside. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved only the stevia products made from purified rebaudioside A, not the stevia products made from whole stevia leaves or crude stevia extracts, since it has concerns about how these products will affect your heart, reproductive system, kidneys and blood sugar levels.
Effect on Blood Sugar
Stevia won't raise your blood sugar levels, and some forms of this sweetener may actually lower blood sugar levels. A study published in "Planta Medica" in 2005 found that there was a dose-dependent effect of stevioside on blood sugar levels, with stevioside lowering blood glucose levels and decreasing insulin resistance in rats with diabetes. However, this research is preliminary, and the FDA-approved forms of stevia for use in food don't contain stevioside, so most of the stevia products you can buy in the baking section in grocery stores won't have this effect on your blood sugar levels.
Compared to Other Sweeteners
A study published in "Appetite" in August 2010 compared the effects of preloads before meals containing stevia in the form of stevioside with those containing aspartame or table sugar. During the day, participants who had the stevia and aspartame preloads didn't eat any more or less than the participants who consumed a table sugar-based preload, although they did consume slightly fewer calories since stevia and aspartame contain fewer calories than sugar. Though study participants preferred the taste of aspartame to stevia, stevia lowered both after-meal blood glucose levels and insulin levels, while aspartame only lowered after-meal blood glucose levels.
Even the types of stevia that are generally recognized as safe by the FDA should be used in moderation, recommends MayoClinic.com. Stevia can also cause side effects, including a feeling of fullness and nausea. Some people find that stevia has a bitter or medicinal after taste, especially in coffee and lemonade, and it is a lot more expensive than sugar and most other artificial sweeteners.
Articles For Your Diet
- Mother Earth News: Stevia: This Sugar Substitute Is Sweet and Healthy
- MayoClinic.com: Stevia: Can It Help With Weight Control?
- Drugs.com: Stevia
- Appetite: Effects of Stevia, Aspartame, and Sucrose on Food Intake, Satiety, and Postprandial Glucose and Insulin Levels
- Planta Medica: Mechanism of the Hypoglycemic Effect of Stevioside, a Glycoside of Stevia Rebaudiana
- Consumer Reports: Sweet Substitutes